Re: 'hard and fast'

: Hard and Fast Rule:
: The archives use this term without any other explaination. What is the derviation of the expression 'hard and fast'?

HARD AND FAST (RULE) - "Rigid: fixed. Another nautical term, originally referring to a ship that had run around or was otherwise on land (as in drydock). In this sense it is found in Admiral William Henry Smyth's 'The Sailor's Word-Book' : 'Said of a ship on shore.' In the sense of something rigid it was around the same time, being used by J. W. Henley in the House of Commons." From "The Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Wings Books, Originally New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985).